SYNOPSIS:A lonely, unappreciated office worker turns the worst day of his life into the day that saved his sanity and brought about the life of his dreams. Though finally getting what he wants isn't at all what he imagined it to be.

BOTTOM LINE: The best way to describe this film is a cross between FALLING DOWN and OFFICE SPACE. It's not exactly a comedy, but the story is told with a deeply witty and dark sense of humor that helps the more disturbing moments go down easier. Slater is a revelation as Bob Maconel, an angry paper pusher who wishes he had the courage to not only end his sad existance, but to take a few of his hated co-workers with him on his way out of this world. When the choice is suddenly taken from him, he inadvertantly becomes the office hero when he stops another co-worker from carrying out his gun-slinging dream.

He thought his crush, played by Cuthbert, would be happy he saved her life, but she's not at all thrilled to be alive, considering the condition the bullet in her back left her in. It seems after a troubled start that the two of them have a chance to make a nice life together, but Bob just can't seem to believe that Vanessa's feelings for him are real. After all, she never gave him the time of day before the shooting. It doesn't take long for Bob to start feeling unappreciated again, bringing him right back to where he started: bitter, lonely and ready to end it all.

His journey from hero to hitman is made terribly entrancing by a tight script, inventive direction and Slater's all-out performance. He is so believable, you'll start looking around your own life for someone just like him to start being nice to. The supporting cast does a good job, but this is really Slater's show and he makes the most of this complex role. It's nice to see Cuthbert in a role that requires more than running and screaming. She does a fairly good job, leaving you never quite sure what Vanessa's true intentions are towards Bob. It's this ambiguity that sucks both Bob and the audience further into his fantasy world supposedly come true. The ending is a bit ambiguous, which will most likely confuse and anger some viewers, but leaving it open-ended forces the viewer to really see Bob for who he is: a quiet, frustrated man who just wants to be loved.

"You may ask why I did what I did. But what choice did you give me? How else could I get your attention?"